Meant to Be Broken (Challenge Story 1)
by sunshineleo
Summary: This little one-shot is in response to the KAEX Broken Challenge. I combined two things I love into the fic, KA and my favorite form of exercise! This story is unrelated to my other fics and takes place during DotU, shortly after Allura took over as pilot of Blue Lion.


This little one-shot is in response to the KAEX Broken Challenge. I combined two things I love into the fic, KA and my favorite form of exercise! (Get your head out of the gutter; it's not what you think!) This story is unrelated to my other fics and takes place during DotU, shortly after Allura took over as pilot of Blue Lion.

Some slight edits and revisions as of 6/10. On rereading it here, I realized there were some flow problems. Fixes are minor. Thanks for reviews!

Rated T

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Voltron and its characters are owned by WEP. The story is mine.

Meant to be Broken

Sighing deeply, Allura sat down on her bed to tie her sneakers. It was 4 am. After securing her shoelaces, the princess flung herself backwards on her bed and covered her face with her arm. Hoping to rest for just a few more minutes, she felt like she could sleep for hours. She was utterly exhausted. Her new role as pilot of Blue Lion had turned her life upside down. In addition to her duties as ruling monarch of Planet Arus, she also had to now juggle Lion practice, physical training, and team meetings. She found she barely had time to eat or sleep, and it was catching up with her.

Most of her new agenda was no big deal. Her role of princess forced her to work and plan with others. She knew how to problem solve and negotiate until consensus was reached. Being a part of a team and partaking in team meetings was not really that different than when she worked with Koran and the Arusian Council. The biggest challenge for her was accepting that Commander Keith Kogane was her superior officer, and as his subordinate, she was expected to follow orders without question. This was something the princess was still learning and accepting.

Following orders was big part of Lion practice. Allura smiled to herself. Being behind the controls of Blue Lion brought her the most excitement and joy. Surprisingly, piloting came quite easily to her. Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered Koran mentioning that it must be in her blood; her father had been an outstanding pilot and former leader of the Voltron Force. Though she wasn't as quick on her feet behind the controls as the rest of the teammates, she had impressed her commander and the rest of the force with her level of skill. In the few times she had piloted Blue in battle, several key maneuvers and strikes had come from Allura in Blue Lion.

The princess stood slowly and proceeded to stretch her sore muscles. Her whole body ached. Prior to becoming pilot of Blue Lion, Allura kept herself in good shape. Her body was lithe and naturally slender; she kept it in check by dancing, fencing, and horseback riding, activities deemed appropriate for a princess. Always watching her diet carefully, she seldom indulged in desserts and sweets. She didn't think keeping up with the physical demands of being a member of the Voltron Force would be a problem. Boy was she wrong. The physical training was killing her.

Martial arts, strength training, distance running, swimming, wrestling, tactical exercises, shooting; all had become a part of Allura's daily life. When she started working out with the boys, she found at first that she could barely keep up. Even Pidge and Hunk ran circles around her. Keith had been disillusioned at her lack of strength, endurance, and flexibility. With a furrowed brow and a frown on his handsome face, he watched her struggle. But he did not let her slide by; he pushed her hard and challenged her. He was a regular drill sergeant when it came to PT, and soon, Allura began to improve in her physical conditioning.

To further help her, Keith became her personal trainer. He provided her with one on one training sessions, in addition to PT with the team. Every morning at 4 am sharp, Keith met Allura in the Castle entryway. The daily activity varied. Sometimes it was yoga, sometimes it was calisthenics, and sometimes it was weightlifting. On today's agenda was a distance run. Allura scowled. She loved running; the rhythm of her feet hitting the pavement, the breeze caressing her heated face, her muscles tensing as they propelled her forward, the freedom allowing her to go where she wanted. It was the 4 am call time that was a struggle for the princess. Keith liked to get his run out of the way early in the day. Remembering who she was running with, Allura smiled as she felt her disgruntled thoughts melt away.

Standing, Allura walked across the room to her vanity. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she contemplated how to make her appearance presentable while decked out in workout clothes. There was nothing attractive about what she was wearing: black nylon running shorts, a fitted gray tank top, and her pink running shoes. Shrugging to herself, she quickly plaited her golden tresses into a thick French braid. Allura gave herself one more glance before she headed to the main stairway to meet Keith by the front door.

VVVVVVVV

Dressed in black running shorts and a sleeveless red and white shirt, Keith waited patiently at the castle entrance for his running partner. Smiling softly to himself, he thought about how much he had been enjoying the extra one on one time with the fair Allura. Running a hand through his thick black hair, Keith turned around at the sound of the soft footfalls he heard coming down the stairs behind him. There was only one person that it could be.

Keith's breath caught in his throat as he took in Allura's beautiful form. Only she could make running gear look amazing. Her nylon running shorts showed off her long dancer-like legs, defined thanks to her intense physical training. Her tight gray tank top hugged her slender waist and pushed her breasts together, creating a tease of tantalizing cleavage. She lifted her toned arms to smooth away some stray hairs as she reached the last step, the muscles in her arms and shoulders flexing. Her body was fit and smoking. Raking his eyes over her quickly, the commander gulped down his wave of desire and instead greeted the princess as his eyes reached her heartbreakingly beautiful face. "Morning, Princess," he called. "Are you ready to hit the pavement?"

Rolling her eyes, Allura shook her head in mock annoyance. "I will never understand why you get so excited about working out this early," she grumbled. "The sun isn't even up yet."

"It's the best time to work out, Princess," Keith lectured. "Your body is rested. You will burn fat and rev up your metabolism for the rest of the day. You will wake up both your mind and body naturally. Endorphins are better for you than caffeine."

Unable to keep her grumpy façade going, Allura's face broke into a radiant smile as she tried to stop herself from giggling. Keith was so serious about _everything._ "Enough with the lecture," she exclaimed. "I am ready when you are. Let's get this over with."

"Ok," Keith said, slightly disappointed that she found their early morning workouts such a bother. Clearing his throat, he instructed brusquely, "We're going to cover 5 k today. That's 3 miles plus. We're going to do it in intervals. The first quarter mile will be slow; we will use it as a warm up. The next two quarters, or half mile, will speed up to a ten minute mile. The final quarter will be a full on sprint, as fast as you can. We will repeat that three times and finish with a half mile cool down."

Allura gulped. Having just gotten comfortable with the 5 k distance within the last week, she didn't know how she would handle the challenge that Keith set today. He wanted her to run a hell of a lot faster than she thought herself capable. "But Keith," she protested. "I only just recently felt comfortable with the distance. I am lucky if I can run a twelve minute mile."

"You've been doing great, Princess," Keith affirmed. "But it's easy to fall into a running routine. You have to constantly change it up, whether it's the speed, the distance, or the terrain, to keep running challenging. Today we will be playing with the speed."

The princess still looked doubtful. "I don't know if I can do it. My best time so far has been 36 minutes."

"Very respectable," Keith concluded. "Today, you come in at under 30."

"Under 30! Are you crazy?" Allura sputtered. "You want me to shave 6 minutes off my time?" The princess stared at the commander in disbelief.

"You can do it, Princess," Keith replied. "I will be running right there beside you, pushing you along. And if you fall, I will be there to pick you up." He flashed his sweet lopsided grin in reassurance as he pulled his shoulder length hair back into a low ponytail. "Now are you ready?"

Allura felt her insides melt at the look he gave her. His powerful biceps flexed as he finished securing his hair out of his face. Trying to refocus her mind and body away from the man in front of her and back on the run ahead, the princess nodded.

As they made their way out the front door, Allura was very aware of the man walking next to her. She was utterly captivated with the handsome commander. He was stunning to look at with his long raven hair and black as midnight eyes. His body was hard with muscle, kept in check from his intense physical training. Though she tried to feign boredom and indifference, the truth was she had come to really enjoy these early morning workouts. The uninterrupted time with Keith was precious to the princess. While Keith set his communicator to keep track of their distance and speed, Allura simply stared at the commander. He looked up at her suddenly. Allura flushed at being caught gawking at him.

Keith saw Allura's sudden reddening. He looked at her in concern and confusion. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Fine," the princess replied. "Let's do this."

Turning to the path across the lake, Keith set off in a light jog. Allura fell into step easily beside him. They jogged the length of the drawbridge and headed north along the road that ran beside the lake. A couple of minutes into their run, Keith's comm went off; it indicated that a quarter mile was already behind them. Catching Allura's eye, Keith nodded and started to pick up the pace. Allura sped up to match his speed.

Allura felt strong. Though her body was sore, her muscles were humming as she increased her stride to keep pace with Keith. The speed was definitely faster than what she would normally run, but she did not find it too difficult. Feeling Keith beside her, she wanted to make her commander proud, not only because he was her superior, but also because of the delicious feelings the commander stirred in her. She concentrated on the steady rhythm set by her feet and tried to ignore the acceleration of her heart as she bumped shoulders with Keith.

The running pair approached a slight incline. "We have almost hit our half mile interval," Keith called over the wind whizzing past them. "When the comm beeps, I want you to take off as fast as you can. You are going to run at a sprint for a quarter of a mile. Pretend Lotor's after you!" He grinned. "Ready?"

The princess nodded, returning his smile. Just then the comm beeped. Keith took off, leaving Allura behind. She stared after him in shock, dazed at his speed. Was he really that fast? Watching him go, she suddenly remembered she was supposed to sprint as well. Allura bolted after the blur in red and white.

_A quarter mile, Allura_, the princess thought to herself. _That's about two and a half minutes; you can do it. _ She raced after Keith. Allowing herself a little daydream as motivation, Allura pretended that Keith promised a kiss if she could catch him. Her speed accelerated.

Watching the graceful, panther-like gait of her commander ahead of her, Allura noticed that he slowed to jog in place. He must have reached the last quarter mile mark, and waited for her. He signaled to her as she approached and she slowed. Breathing heavily, she fell into step beside him again.

"You're doing great, Princess!" Keith exclaimed. "You ran that last interval hard. You weren't that far behind me. Whatever your motivation is, go with that." Allura blushed at that comment. Keith didn't notice. "Now use this slow interval as recovery and then we do it all over again."

Gasping to slow her breathing, the princess was unable to respond. Keith laughed at the withering look she flashed him. "Come on, Allura. On this next one, I want you to try and stay with me. Catch me if you can," he quipped somewhat flirtatiously, turning back to the road with a small smile playing on his lips. Allura furrowed her brows at his playfulness before she turned back to concentrate on her run.

VVVVVVVVVVV

Fifteen minutes later, Allura's legs felt like lead. Her muscles screamed at her, and sweat poured down her face and torso. They were in mile three, getting ready to complete the half mile interval. Only one more quarter mile sprint stood between her and triumph. Allura concentrated on the steady rhythm of her sneakers pounding the ground, willing them to keep moving. A moment later, the comm beeped. A picture of Keith's lips meeting hers flashed in her brain, and Allura surged forward past Keith.

Increasing her speed, Allura thought of an up-tempo Arusian quickstep, the tune ringing in her head as her feet kept the steady beat. She could hear Keith closing in on her from behind, but she didn't look back. She kept her face forward and ran. With only the wind in her face, Allura felt powerful.

A few minutes later, Allura snapped from her running reverie with the sound of Keith's comm beeping to show the end of their interval. Allura immediately slowed her gait. She wanted to stop, but she knew she couldn't. She decelerated to a jog instead.

Keith fell into pace beside her. "Whoa!" he gasped as he struggled to breathe. "You toasted me on that last one."

Quirking an eyebrow, Allura giggled. "Toasted you?" She asked in confusion. She would never understand Terran idioms.

"Beat me!" Keith explained. "You flew past me like a rocket. I struggled to keep up." Just then the comm beeped a final time. Their run and cool down ended just as they approached the entrance to the drawbridge.

Keith slowed to a stop. He pulled his comm off his belt and looked back over the data. He was drenched with sweat, his face flushed and his black hair plastered to his head. Though he was a dripping, sweaty mess, he looked delicious to the princess. Allura watched Keith's eyes widen as he looked at the small screen; a smile lit up his handsome face.

Allura couldn't gauge his reaction. "Well," she implored. "How did I do?"

Keith looked at the beautiful princess, pride and something more swelling in his heart. "You hit the 5 k mark at 29 minutes 45 seconds," he stated simply.

Confusion played over her flushed and sweaty face. Then realization struck her. "I did it!" she screamed. "I beat 30 minutes!" Launching herself at Keith, she grabbed him in a fierce hug.

Time stood still for the commander. Instinctively, his arms tightened around her. Pulling her tightly against him, he felt her curves meet his hard muscles. His heart tripped all over itself at the sudden contact. Putting his nose to her glistening, soaked hair, he breathed in her scent, sweat and all, and it almost unglued him. Before he knew what he was doing, his lips grazed her temple. He felt her tremble at his touch.

Allura felt herself pulled against Keith. Her whole body shuddered with desire. Pulling back, she gazed up into his handsome face and stopped. The look on his face was one she had only ever dreamed that she would see. Love, lust, and longing churned in his black eyes. Raising her face to kiss him, Allura felt Keith suddenly go rigid. A moment later, the look was gone, replaced by a tender look of pride and...was that regret? He dropped his arms and took a step back. "I told you that you could do it," he chided quietly. "Congratulations, princess, you broke your record. I am really proud of you."

Allura studied his face a minute. Nothing. His mask was back, that emotion she had seen hidden away. But she had seen it; there was no mistaking it. "Thanks, Keith," she said huskily, looking up at him coyly through her lashes. "I couldn't have done it without you." She offered a small, knowing smile, rubbing her hand up and down his bicep.

Furrowing his brow, Keith caught the look she gave him. Could it be? Could she...? Not wanting to look too much into it, he ripped his eyes from her beautiful face and turned toward the castle so he could regain his focus. "C...C...Come on, princess," he stammered as his heart pounded, brought on by the princess, and not the run. "After that, we both deserve a shower and a good breakfast." Unable to look at her after the almost they had just shared, he started across the drawbridge, walking quickly toward the main castle doors.

Smiling to herself, Allura watched him go for a few seconds. Hope filled her heart. This morning's run had been more than worth it. She had broken her own personal running record. That was a triumph in itself. She reflected on the moment she and Keith shared. She realized that the emotions she felt were returned by her heart's desire. And from the flustered look on the normally stoic commander's face, Allura knew he had realized it too. Some major barriers had been broken down today. With a newfound energy, Allura ran across the drawbridge to catch up with Keith. She now had more motivation than ever to keep on running.


End file.
